Mouthpiece for respiratory apparatus



July 13 1926.

A. B. DRAGER MOUTHPIECE FOR RESPIRATORY APPARATUS Filed June 9, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 13,1926. H 1,592,345

' A. B.. DRAGER MOUTHPIECE FOR RESPIRATORY APPARATUS Filed June 9, 1921 2 Sheets-5heet 2 Patented July 13, 1926.

UNITED STATES ALEXANDER BERNHARD DRKGER, or LUBECK, GERMANY.

MOUTHPIECE FOR RESPIRATORY APPARATUS.

Application filed June 9, 1921, Serial No. 476,231, and. in Germany December 15, 1915.

(GRANTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS or was ACT or Manor: 3,. 1221,41 STAT. L., 1313.

with a breathing pipe equipped at the free end with a tubular mouthpiece which is held in the month by thewearer of the apparatus, in order to ensure the admission of respirable air to the breathing organs.

The invention relates to such mouthpieces v and concerns the special construction, formation and arrangement thereof, and has for its object to provide a novel construction whereby the carrying of the mouthpiece and the firm holding thereof in the mouth is made easier and more pleasant, and the use of such mouthpiece in connection with a gas mask is rendered possible.

The object aimed atis attained by providing the tubular mouthpiece inside with a member in the form of a strip or the like, preferably of springy material, which extends beyond the end of the mouthpiece a distance sufficient to permit it to be positioned at the rear of the teeth. It is by this member or strip that themouth piece is grasped by the teeth, whilst air is excluded from the mouth by reason of the fact'that the mouthpiece is kept air-tight by the lips which embrace it. To make the member or strip capable of being easily and comfort ably held by the teeth its free extremity may be'provided with an enlargement of any suitable form and size adapted to rest as a stop against the rear side of the teeth. A further feature of the invention consists in providing the tubular mouthpiece with twospring members or strips instead of one single member or strip, said memhere or strips lying some distance apart, one above the other, and projecting beyond the rear opening of the mouthpiece so as to be capable of being easily grasped by the teeth.

V A still further feature of the invention consists in providing the mouthpiece with a chin member, such as a block or pad, which by hearing and resting against the chin of the' wearer of the 'mouthpiece, holds and maintains thesaid mouthpiece in a steady, proper position and prevents it from developing jerky/movements caused by running or jumping, or at least reduces such movementsto such an extent that they do not feel unpleasant. The steady position of the mouthpiece and of the chin member may be stillfurther ensured by means of a suitable 'neckstrap appropriately fastened to the chin member of the mouthpiece and arranged to encircle the neck of the wearer.

An other feature of the invention consists in constructing the mouthpiece in a double bent or cranked form and providing it in its central or cranked part with an external screw thread, whereby the mouth piece maybe screwed into the customary internally threaded central opening of the mouthplate of a gas mask. The mouthpiece may also be constructed to consist of two separate bent pieces which when screwed together or otherwise firmly connected with each other, form likewise a cranked mouthpiece having an external thread at its cen tral cranked part.

The last featureof the invention consists in providing a mouthpiece and a strip or strips preferably made of sheet metal or the like and covering the same wholly or partly with a coating of celluloid orthe like which serves as a substitute for the usual rubber coating and makes the holding of the mouthpiece between the teeth and in the mouth in general more pleasant. I

In the accompanying drawings are shown diagrammaticallyby way of example several forms of the improved mouthpiece.

- gig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation an Fig. 2 a plan of a mouthpiece according to the present invention.

Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views disclosing a modification of the mouthpiece;

Fig. 5 shows in side elevation a cranked mouthpiece with a chin member;

Fig.6is a top view ofthe mouthpiece shown in Figure 5', as it appears afterits upper part has been broken'away; and Fig. '7 is an elevation of another modification of 'the mouthpiece.

' Similar letters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As it is obvious from Figures 1 and 2, a

member or strip a is fastened, preferably so as to be pivotally movable, at it within the tubular mouthpiece we made for example of sheet metal. The more or less rigid strip is so dimensioned in length that its free end project-s beyond the opening of the mouthpiece a distance suiiicient to bring its free end, which is preferably provided with a buttom-like enlargement of, to the rear of the teeth of the user of the device.

' In practice, the mouthpiece is inserted into the mouth in the manner indicated in Fig. 1, and the strip a is grasped by the teeth so that the enlargement a is in the rear thereof, whilst the lips embrace the mouthpiece proper and form an air-tight connection therewith whereby the surrounding'air is prevented from entering the mouth. This arrangement, to a certain degree, permit s free movement of the mouthpiece in the-mouth, that is to say, between the lips, without breaking the connection with the teeth which may remain or be kept rather in their natural position without effort.

The mouthpiece as well as the strip especiallythose parts thereoi which are to be introduced into the mouth, are covered with a coating of celluloid z and 2 respectively. The coatings are of such thickness that sharp edges, borders and the like, it any, are practically rounded off and thereby prevented from hurting the wearer. As the mouthpiece, or more properly the strip, is mainly grasped and held by the teeth, it is much more convenient and pleasant, to bite elastic celluloid than hard sheet metal.

According to Figures 3 and 4-, two spring strips 5 and c of any suitable springy m terial are fixed at it in the interior of the tubular mouthpiece m, which strips normally lie some distance apart, one above the other, and are of such a length that their free endscproject from the opening of the mouthpiece in a manner to be conveniently grasped by the teeth. To enable the spring strips to be better held by the teeth their free ends are provided with outwardly, that is to say. upwardly and downwardly bent thickened portions 72 and 0 In the modification shown in Figures 5 and 6 the mouthpiece m is of a cranked shape or form and is provided at its central part with an external screw thread (Z by means of which the mouthpiece may be screwed into the customary internally threaded central opening of the mouthplate of a gas mask, after the usual air-filter has been unscrewed and removed therefrom. The breathing pipe may be attached directly to the lower endof the mouthpiece m The mouthpiece is provided at the proper point, with a suitably formed chin member 6 made of appropriate material, such as a metal block or strip. and lined with a pad or the like it desired. This chin member which is permanently connected with the mouthpiece so as to comprise a fixed part thereol bears against the chin of the person wearing the apparatus and steadies the mouthpiece and maintains it against vibration in the position it occupies when in use.

A neck strap f or the like may be uti lized to secure the mouthpiece against the chin ot the wearer of the apparatus. The said neck strap suitably fastened to the chin member 6 is strapped round the wearers neck in a manner which will be clear from Figures 5 and 6 without further explanation.

Referring to the modification shown in Figure 7 the cranked mouthpiece is composed of two separate parts m and m which are screwed together by means of threaded sockets g and 9 The socket g is externally threaded and the part m is provided likewise with a chin member 6; The flexible breathing pipe or hose h is connected to the part m When the breathing device is to be used in combination with a gas mask i the parts 971- and m are disconnected. The part m is then screwed by means of its external thread g, from within the gas mask, into the internal thread of the central opening of the mouthplate 7c of the gas mask, shown by dotted lines in Figure 7. After this the part m by means of its threaded socket g is screwed from the outside into connect-ion with the internal thread of the socket 9 already screwed into the mouthplate. The cranked mouthpiece m m is thus connected with the mouthplate oi the gas mask in a reliable and gas-tight manner and in the proper position with relation to the mouth of the wearer.

. I claim:

1. In a respiratory apparatus, the combination of a tubular mouthpiece adapted to be held between the lips and to lie in front of the teeth, a device secured interiorly of said mouthpiece and projecting outwardly beyond the lip accommodating end of the mouthpiece and being arranged to be grasped by and between the teeth, and means at the free end of said device adapted to lie upon the inside of the teeth.

2. The combination of a tubular mouthpiece for respiratory apparatus adapted to be held only between the lips, and a holding strip connected with the interior of said mouthpiece and projecting outwardly beyond the same, said strip being movable relative to said mouthpiece and constituting a projection to be grasped only by the teeth.

8. The combination of a mouthpiece for respiratory apparatus adapted to be taken only between the lips, and two strips of resilient material connected with said mouthpiece and normally lying some distance apart and one above the other, so as to be capable of yielding towards each other, said strips projecting beyond the opening of the mouthpiece between and beyond the teeth and adapted to be grasped only thereby.

4. The combination of a mouthpiece for respiratory apparatus adapted to be taken only between the lips, two strips of resilient material connected with said mouthpiece and normally lying some distance apart and one above the other, said strips projecting beyond the opening of the mouthpiece, and adapted to be grasped only by the teeth, and oppositely bent and thickened portions at the free ends of said strips for providing grips or stops for the teeth.

5. In a respiratory apparatus, the combination of a crank-shaped mouthpiece com: prising a tubular portion arranged to be held between the lips and extending substantially perpendicular to the'planeo-f the face, a portion depending from said firstmentioned portion in a plane substantially parallel to the face and closely adjacent to thechin, and a portion extending outwardly from said depending portion and provided with means for attaching the mouthpiece to a mask.

6. In a respiratory apparatus, the combination of a crank-shaped mouthpiece comprising a member arranged to be held between the lips and extending substantially perpendicular to the plane of the face, a member depending from said first-mentioned member in a plane substantially parallel to e the face and closely adjacent to the chin, and a member extending outwardly from said depending member and inclined with respect thereto, said member being provided with means for attaching the mouthpiece to a mask, and means for holding thedepending member in engagement with the chin to maintain said mouthpiece against oscillation in the mouth.

7. I11 a respiratory apparatus, the combination of a crank-shaped mouthpiece com-' prising a member arranged to be held between the lips and extending substantially perpendicular to the plane of the face, a

member dependin from said first-mentioned member in a plane substantially parallel to the face and closely adjacent to the chin, and a member extending outwardly from said depending member and inclined with respect thereto, said member being provided with means for attaching the mouthpiece to .a mask. a chin member permanently carried by the depending member adapted to engage the chin to maintain said mouthpiece against oscillation, and a neck strap attached to said chin member for fixing it in place against the chin;

8. A mouthpiece for respiratory apparatus comprising a section'adapted to be held between the lips and extending substantially at right angles to the plane of the face, a section depending from the first-mentioned section in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the face, said depending member being arranged adjacent to the chin, a section inclinedv downwardly and outwardly from said depending member and provided with means for attaching the mouthpiece to a mask, and a section extending downwardly from the outer end of the inclined section, the last-mentioned section being substantially parallel to the depending section.

9. A mouthpiece for respiratory apparatus comprising a section adapted to be held between the lips and extending substantially at right angles to the plane of theface, a section depending from the first-mentioned section in a'plane substantially parallel to the plane of the face, said depending mem ber beingarranged adjacent to the chin, a section inclined downwardly and outwardly from said depending member and provided with means for attaching the mouthpiece to a mask, and-a section extending downwardly from the outer end of the inclined section, the last-mentioned section being substantially parallel to the depending section, and a chin strip secured to the depending member adapted to retain the depending member against the chin to prevent oscillation of the mouthpiece. ALEXANDER BERNHARD DRAGER. 

